John Milne MP: Where next for housing in Horsham?

Disappointingly, they are continuing with the same flawed methods for setting local targets. High local house prices mean high local building targets.

But this is a crude measure and it leads to ridiculous results. In Horsham District, the average price of a new house is higher than the average price of what’s already here. So, the more we build, the more we’ll be asked to build – without any obvious limit!

The good news is that we’re protected for now. Horsham District Council has already submitted a new Local Plan, thanks to swift action by the Lib Dem administration which took over last year. (To declare an interest, I was the Cabinet Member for Planning at the time.)

What we said then has come to pass – that it was vital to take advantage of the rules as they applied at the time, taking into account the effect of Water Neutrality, rather than waiting in vague hope of something better.

Had we delayed as some argued, Horsham would now need double the number of sites to meet its target. Deeply unpopular locations like Buck Barn and Adversane would have been at risk, as well as increased totals almost everywhere else.

To be clear, as a nation we absolutely do need many more houses. But simply using the same flawed method with a bigger stick is not the solution.

I don’t see any attempt here to gain local consent. Local planning authorities still have no control over the provision of schools, clinics and major link roads. We have to give people the confidence their sacrifice of space is worth it, or they will never support development.

Most people agree we need more housing. Our children, grandchildren and wider family are under enormous pressure from ballooning rents and mortgages. But we cannot keep pushing development through in the teeth of local opposition.

The government’s proposals will only turbo-charge resistance and make it even harder to solve one of society’s most pressing needs.